Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th- Days of rest

Our Hotel in North Colorado Springs

It is nice to get up and knowing that you don't have to go anywhere unless we think we should do. The plan was to take it easy, go for walks which we did and walked around the large shopping complex across the road which did include a very nice ice cream one day and the next a coffee sitting in the sun where it was so warm we had to seek shade.
This part of Colorado Springs is right next to the US Air force Training Academy and throughout the day single engine aircrafyt are taking off and doing bumps and then off again. In the background people are jumping out of aeroplanes and parachuting back to terra-firma. Its fun to watch and so we did for quite some while.

We have been planning the next few days of our trip now that we have had time to think and we are heading a short way south tomorrow to Pueblo via down town Colorado Springs where we understand there is an historic old town which is worth seeing. We have planned also to visit an Aircraft Museum and a river walk by the Arkansas River. We then head eat on route 50 to cowboy land in the shape of Dodge City where we hope to meet up some gun toting sheriff's... 

The Mall across the street

Tonight, the 30th, we went to the cinema to see a film called ARGO which has Ben Afleck and John Goodman and revolves around a crazy plan to get six American Embassy out of Iran during 1980 at the start of the political issues. The film clearly mentions up front how the dastardly Brits and American got together to put the SHAH in place so that we could get all the oil we needed whilst he made tons of cash, which he eventually brought to USA. Needless to say the Iranian locals did not appreciate the wealth of the Royal Family with poverty everywhere outside of the royal circus and hence the uprising with the request to send the Shah back to Iran no doubt to be shot. The US rejected this request and so relationships went down hill.Its an excellent film and well worth seeing.. 

Some times the American and the Brits what caused the issues in Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq and learn from the Swiss how to stay neutral, don't invade another's country or dictate how foreigners should live. Incidentally every minute of the day the TV is full of advertising by each side of the political agenda for the forthcoming US elections and in one of Romney's adverts they show how the US has fallen down the financial calender and at the top of the list is, wait for it, Switzerland. Perhaps he should watch his own adverts and have a better understanding how you can keep the country rich and the peasants happy.
As I think most politicians are useless and a waste of space I have no opinion who should win the White House as it really doesn't matter as nothing will change anyway irrespective of the hundred's of millions of dollars spent on the adverts where this money could be spent more wisely.
Its is very sad to see the effect of 'SANDY' on the East Coast where it has reeked devastation to an unimaginable level. Lets see if they get this sorted quicker than they did New Orleans

Sunday 28th October- We crossed the Continental Divide on US Route 50

We had a longish drive today and a little uncertain how the weather would be up in the mountains we would pass en-route to Colorado Springs.

We left Montrose and after a while stopped in Gunnison for a cup of coffee before we hit the roads which climb higher and higher and until we passed over Monarch Peak which is 11312 feet high and thankfully it was dry but just a little chill.  

The drive again was quite exhilarating with wide open spaces and then high mountains, canyons, rivers and little towns but clearly they are prepared for the snowy winter with piles of grit everywhere and most houses having either snowmobiles or quad bikes outside. Most vehicles here are 4x4 of the large American style and much bigger than the UK 4x4. These trucks?  always seem to be towing or carrying everything from quad bikes to live cows.

We stopped for lunch in a wayside stop called Lone Pine which was right by The Arkansas River where trout are available,providing you have a fishing rod and licence, and we were surrounded by mountains but nobody else was there except us-creepy.

We continued on route 50 which is known as the loneliest road in America, on our first US road trip in 2006 we did quite some mileage on this route and now we plan to do some more down to Dodge City, I wonder if the cowboys are still there?

We arrived in North Colorado Springs around 3.30 pm, nope we did not hang about, and checked in to the Homewood Suites where we have a full kitchen whilst the room has a good view over a nearby mall with mountains in the background.

Following check in we found the nearest Alberstons Supermarket and purchased some Tilapia fillets for dinner tonight and then a brief visit to the Liquor store to top up our wine selection which is virtually nil.

The fish and wine were excellent and went down a treat and then we spent the rest of the evening sorting clothes and listening to IPods before hitting the sack.

The next few days are to be ‘down time’ and stay away from the car as much as possible.

Saturday 27th October- Moab to Montrose- what a drive!!

View from the car

A little food shopping and get some fuel for the car and we were on our way to a place called Montrose which is on our route to Colorado Springs which have decided will be our next main stop for three or four days.

The roads from Moab travel through some of the most interesting and beautiful parts of the country and we climbed a mountain called the Dallas Divide after having taken coffee in a little town called Norwood. Not much is going on in Norwood as we had passed several all small towns looking for a cup of coffee but no luck until we happened upon this little place. From the signs everywhere there are many hunters around out to kill anything that moves I guess. 

Hunters welcome

We stopped for lunch overlooking the snow covered mountain at around 9000 feet and the temperature was about 12 degrees C.

We followed the road through its twist and turns and ups and downs until we reached Montrose. We did see a few dead animals en-route mostly deer.

When we arrived in Montrose we found the main sign for the Holiday Inn but the actual name on the Hotel Entrance was different and this was a touch confusing and so we drove round again and then came back to the same place. We asked somebody unloading their car and they confirmed this was the correct Hotel only as Holiday Inn had only recently taken it over they had not changed all the signs, you would have thought that this would be the first thing to do?

Norwood Main Street

We spent a little while looking at the weather condition to decide our next port of call and agreed that it was to be Colorado Springs for three nights andwe will stay in a suite hotel which has a small kitchen so that we can fully prepare our own food and also get round to doing some washing.

We popped round to the Safeway Store right next door and purchased a ready cooked chicken, some microwavable mashed potatoes and broccoli and then headed back to the hotel for our evening meal. The meal was excellent and washed down with a part bottle of Costco Malbec bought earlier in the trip.

It will be a quiet night doing photos as the internet connection speed is very good and so should be able to get completely up to date with everything.

Must have an early morning as we have about 250 miles to go and will attempt a mountain pass of about 10000 feet which might just have a little snow, let us wait and see.

Friday 26th October- Can it get any better?

After the usual breakfast in the room, the Hotel does offer free??Breakfast but it seems they give you a five dollar voucher for use in the Pancake house providing you spend more than ten dollars. So not for us at all.

Our first visit is to the Canyon Lands National Park where we arrived about 0945 and the drive to the main sites of interest is about 22 miles, not small parks these. The mountains and rock formations was truly amazing and we have lots of photos to bore you with. We had to walk to two of the best viewing points, one a simple quarter of a mile with some slope but the second walk took us an hour there and back and it was very rocky and with gravel underfoot and quite steep in places and so a little difficult for the old man whilst the younger wife led the way.

We had a picnic lunch and then went to ‘The Arches’ State Park and we spend about three hours there looking at the arches created out of stone and hewn by the wind and rain.

During both park visits we met some very friendly people which added to the interest. We returned to Moab and checked in to the Ramada across the road from the Best Western who wanted an extra $ 80.00 per night more than we paid during the first night and so we moved across to the Ramada which turned out to be a slightly better hotel.  We had dinner in a bar/restaurant about five minutes’ walk and had a very meal but even in this small town they are suggesting a tip of 20% which seems to me to be quite a lot. Anyway I used a lower amount as I think that this amount of tipping is too much.

Back to the room and upload some photos which are taking an absolute eternity due to the very slow internet speeds. At last check it said it would take eight hours to upload 150 photos.

And so to bed as tomorrow we travel east to a place called Montrose, Colorado where we will then make a decision on out next destination based upon the weather as the snow is beginning to appear and the temperature is dropping and we would like a bit of heat somewhere. We have thought of going to Colorado Springs but the weather outlook there is not great.

Thursday 25th October- What a great journey

Following yesterday’s heavy rain we watched the weather news this morning and it was more promising for today than expected. Our plans are that we go to a place called Moab in Utah and we could via the Interstate or take the much longer country side route which we decided to do. We went south out of Grand Junction and took the side roads the long way round to Moab. The journey was quite hilly and then we came to a place in the middle of nowhere called Gateway where that had a magnificent resort hotel and it should be at $ 400.00 per night. We walked around the site and lashed out on a cup of coffee and the headed of in to the most amazing drive we have done for years. We drove through canyons and over the tops of mountains with the trees in fall colour and this went on for some hours with ever improving views to the point you could not say wow any more  We stopped for lunch overlooking a mini Grand canyon and read about the ‘Hanging Flue’ which sound strange but it is one of the top one hundred places which are under threat. Basically in the 1800’s the gold miners needed water to wash the stones looking for Gold and they built this amazing water way out of wood alongside the cliff face for over thirteen miles. Not much is left today but they have tried to rebuild this amazing piece of work and they unfortunately failed financially as their process was designed for small stones of gold rather than the powder variety and hence they went ‘bottoms’ up’.

An amazing place indeed and well worth the visit. We continued our journey through the mountains via a place called ‘Paradox’ which is quite an unusual name until we arrived in Moab in late afternoon. We are booked in the Best Western which is probably not the best we have been in but it had a big advantage in being cheap. We had found a a well recommended place for Dinner called Desert Bistro and the food was excellent if on the slightly expensive side but really enjoyable. We had a beer prior to dinner in a bar restaurant called Zaq’s which was busy and fund but noisy with the typical 25 televisions playing American football, which to us Brits is a pointless game’ and baseball which our girls school play. With the football they play for ten seconds and think about it for four or five minutes, then change all the players and start again and the game goes on for ever and ever.

And then back to the Hotel where the Wi-Fi internet if off and on at the moment so perhaps we can hope its back on later.

Tomorrow we plan two National Parks, and then dinner in  a Pizza place or similar.

Wednesday 24th October- Salt Lake City to Grand Junction Colorado

It was raining first thing but eventually eased up as we left the Hotel around 0945. We needed to check on the web one section of road that we intended to use this morning to ensure there were no snow issues. The website said rain and perhaps odd snow showers but generally the roads will remain dry and that is exactly how it was. We headed south on the I-15 to a place called Provo where we left the I-15 and followed the US 6 from Spanish Fork to Price and we stopped at a little old mining town called Helper where we had a nice cup of coffee in a very nicely decorated shop.

We joined the I-70 in the pouring rain and it rained pretty much all the way to Grand Junction and even some very heavy winds were experienced which blew us around a bit. We arrived at the Grand Vista Hotel in grand Junction after crossed the state line between Utah and Colorado at about 16.30. When you check in you must sign a piece of paper saying you won’t smoke in the room but if you do you will have to pay an extra cleaning fee of about USD 150.00

The first room we were given was a no smoking room but had strong smells off cigarette smoking and so rather than risk them charging us we asked to move room which they did without hesitation. Neither of fancied going out for dinner as much of American food in restaurant tends to be fried and you can have enough of fried food. So we popped down the road to Albertson's supermarket and visited the Deli section and ended up with some salads and ham and a few other bits and pieces and we had excellent meal in the room whilst planning our next few days itinerary.

The weather is expected to clear over the next two days and so we will visit The Arches National Park tomorrow afternoon and Canyon Lands the next day and this will entail two nights in Moab the town placed directly between the two parks. Following this we are looking to go to Colorado Springs and then take a slow drive down route 50 in the direction of Wichita.

This Hotel was also booked with Hotwire and boy do they get some good prices.

Let’s hope the weather improves tomorrow

Tuesday 23rd October- A day in Salt Lake City

Trams operate around the City

The weather has changed significantly in the last couple of day for the worse with a cold front moving in and a very strong chance of heavy snow in the Yellowstone Park area and so we have decided that we cannot risk getting snowed in with a car without tyre chains or four wheel drive and so we have cancelled all plans to go to Yellowstone. Yes it’s a shame but we don’t want to risk it and we did know that this could happen as it is late in the year.

Snow has also been forecast around Salt Lake City, perhaps not much but we should leave here before it gets worse.

We shall now head East towards Grand Junction and decide from there whether to go slightly back to Moab where there two National Parks one called ‘The Arches’ and the other 'Canyonlands' but that is for tomorrow to decide.

Shopping Mall

Today we decided to spend our day enjoying the sights and sounds of this very nice City governed by the Mormons for quite some time. We visited the Visitor Centre where they informed us of an Organ Recital in the Temple and so after a bit of window shopping and a pretty awful cup of coffee (why is that in the land of coffee that they could mess it up so much and so often) anyway we skipped down to the Mormon Temple only to find that the doors were closed?. We wandered around and asked several people who sent us in different directions but finally we found our way in and we both agreed that the twenty minutes we listened that the organ sounded really great and was beautifully played. As we left the big hall where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs there were about eight young ladies with badges offering personal tours whilst holding their bibles, not for us we thought.

Inside the main Shopping Mall

We headed back to the large semi open mall and found a food hall with many types of food but we chose Chinese, as you do, which was extremely filling and very tasty. We continued our walk down town and to another open area Mall where we visited a few shops and then checked out the Apple shop a little more. My plan was to thank the guy who had made suggestions how to get music on Jen’s IPod and she is now the proud possessor of about 850 songs and that should keep her happy for a while. By some amazing chance we happened upon a Ben & Gerry’s and of course we needed to check the quality and we can both say it was up to standard.

Mormon Temple Leaning a bit

SLC is a very nice and very clean city, we visited the Loo’s in Macy’s and they have to be the cleanest and most beautifully designed restrooms that we have ever seen. If we had been staying longer we might have moved in.

Back at the Hotel we caught up some emails and sort out today's photos before we depart for the Cinema which is about ten minutes’ drive away and we arrived ,thanks to the Satnav, on time and the tickets for ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ were, because we are OAP’s or Seniors, were US$ 1.25 each or let’s say 80 pence. How do they do it at that price?? The film lasted about two and half hours and was a little confusing to start but perhaps if we see it again we might begin to understand it. We left the cinema to find that it was pouring with rain and drove a few hundred yards up to Whole Foods where we could by some milk and a few other bits for lunch on the road tomorrow. The drive back to the Hotel in the rain in the interstate and local roads was not great but we made it back safely. 

We had purchased a new large cool bag in Whole Foods and whilst I am typing up this Blog Jen is having a sort of bags in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other, I hope she gets it all packed correctly?

We have found, as before, that people in these towns are extremely nice and friendly and go out of their way to help you which is very nice indeed for us visitors. 

Monday 22nd October- Travel to Salt Lake City

An early’esh morning start was intended but did not fully materialize as we had to deal with a very low tyre pressure first and also fill up the car with fuel and we borrowed a  tyre pressure gauge and found that the offending tyre has lost 10 psi overnight and was down to 25 psi when it should be 35  psi  Damn and Blast. So we blew it up to 40 psi and headed off back in the direction of Bryce Canyon and then turned north to hit the Interstate going in the direction of Salt Lake City which is roughly 250 miles distant. We climbed some mountains and dropped through huge open plains until we reached the outskirts of SLC where we stopped for a picnic lunch.  We discussed should we go to the Car Hire at the airport or just call but decided that an in your face would be better and so headed for the airport where we arrived around 3pm. I discussed our problem tyre with the staff and then they pointed out they were only a Dollar Rent-a-car franchise and I would need to call the main contact number to agree what to do next.

Well I called and after discussing the problem with the person who answered the phone they said they would call SLC and would I hold  which I did for nearly twenty minutes and then they came back saying they could only give me a mini-van but I said I did not want to change the vehicle just get the wheel fixed to which they said go to any tyre company and keep the invoice.  Why they did not say that in the beginning I don't know but this is America

So we headed down town and found a place where they checked the car over and found a nail in the offending tyre and fixed it all for $ 32.00.

From there we checked in to the Radisson for our USD 61.00 room plus tax and it was excellent and so have booked another night which will enable us to see more of SLC tomorrow.

We wanted to go to the Apple store as Jennifer, for some reason has lost all the music on her Ipod,and we hoped that they could help, they could and they could not not, by that they could not help us officially but unofficially they gave us some good advice which will try later.  We walked around this very modern shopping precinct and found a steak restaurant called Flemmings Steak House and I can honestly say one of the best New York Strip steaks that Noel has had in years and considerably better than the steak he had at the Palm in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

A  short walk back to the hotel and grab the breakfast travelling bag from the trunk of the car and back to the room to Blog and try and sort out Jennifer’s Ipod.

Tomorrow we plan a walking day around town rather than driving everywhere with a plans to go to the Cinema in the evening, anyway let’s see what happens

Sunday 21st October- Quite a day really

The view from outside our Hotel

We had our pre-purchased breakfast in the room and then left the Hotel in Cannonville around 0930 and headed North towards the Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument and had only gone a few minutes when we noticed a warning light on the car had come on and with a message saying low tyre pressure. Damn.

We did not have any means of checking the tyres, and as its Sunday in a Mormon State and nobody but nobody was around. We stopped at the fire station as the truck was out to see if they had a pump but nobody there. We then discovered that the only place to get it checked was 6 miles in the opposite direction and we took it slowly back. I had wondered why the car felt a bit wobbly and when I checked all the tyres they were all way out instead of the 35 psi. One was very low and some of the others were at 45 psi. So now they are all Ok we hope and pray we don’t have a slow puncture or something.

We turned round and went back on our original route and passed areas called the ‘Blues’ and then the ‘Upper Valley’ and with every turn we were faced with absolutely stunning views which took your breath away. One view superseded the last and we felt almost out of breath. We stopped at a ’Turn out’ where actually you ‘turn in’ to stop and look at the views and bumped in to a couple from Bournemouth doing a three week trip. We chatted about places etc and then continued on to Escalante Town which is written in large letters on the map but is very small place indeed but we did find a place for lunch as it was now 12.45. We fancied eating lunchtime and have a snack later rather than drive 3 miles to a questionable quality restaurant. The Burgers we had were local beef and really quite good.

Not a bad place really

The views continued to improve with different coloured mountains and with sun causing shades and reflections we hope the photos do it justice, We eventually  arrived at a place called Boulder and another small town and turned right on the Burr Trail Scenic Backway where we were driving down the side of the mountain and then along the bottom of the canyon, absolutely amazing. En-route there was one section of road about 2.5 carriages wide with no fence and a drop of several thousand feet both sides-Uhh, Jennifer said I am not driving through there as it was her turn to drive back from the Canyon. We stopped for a coffee at the Kiva Coffee House which has amazing views where you can also rent a room with a fantastic view for $ 170.00 plus tax but it does include breakfast and also did I mention the amazing view. For more info see http://www.kivakoffeehouse.com/   We got back to the Hotel around 1845 and had a nice cup of tea and then do some blogging and check out and upload the photos.

Feet up and relax Mr Groves

We are due to leave first thing in the morning to drive to Salt Lake City where we have booked a Hotel using a website called HOTWIRE where you get very good pricing but you don’t know the Hotel name until you booked. It could be risky if you take a two star place but we have booked the Radisson in downtown salt Lake City for $ 61.00 plus tax against the cheapest you can fine of about

On the web is USD 100.00 plus tax. So worth knowing about..

20th October-Leaving Las Vegas

A slow start after a rather late night and some re-packing to make it easier for travel rather than having to take several suitcases in to a Hotel we have one which we share and use the others as general storage and leave in the car. We also brought our car plug-in cooler box as we often avoid eating out and therefore visit supermarkets and eat in the room; this works well and is a lot cheaper whilst you do get fed up of visiting restaurants.

We drove a short way and then decided we would not wait for later to have breakfast and therefore stopped at the Lake Village and visited the same place as yesterday for a nice and inexpensive start to the day and to build up energy levels. With this time change it does take a little while to get fully adjusted and a good breakfast really helps.

We followed the roads round the side of Las Vegas and on to the highway Interstate 15 and kept up a good speed until we reached a place called St George where we stopped for coffee and did some serious food shopping after having completed 125 miles. From there we followed the signs to Red Rock Canyon where we purchased our US State Park yearly membership and then drove through some most fantastic scenery you have ever seen. We have been here before some years ago and although we could have easily stayed around for a while we did need to move on as we have other State Parks to visit.

We passed by Bryce Canyon State Park and continued North to our Hotel in a small place, one dog and one cat and no pub, and checked in for two nights.

After a bit of a sort out we opened a bottle of Kirkland (Costco) Sonoma County and dived in to the fried chicken and salads purchased earlier and it was very good. Time to do some blogging…..

19th October- It’s Elton John night

Lake Las Vegas Marina Harbour

But first some shopping was required and so after having a breakfast in the Marina village, just down the road from the Hotel and headed off towards Costco where we bought some bits and pieces. We then went looking for the BOSE shop in a huge mall as Noel needed some new earpieces for his headphones as after seven years the leather is allowing bits to fall off all over the place. We had previously tried a BEST BUY but no luck therefore hence our decision to go the mall.

Elton at his best

We explained the problem to the shop assistant at BOSE and he said you can certainly have new earpieces for $40.00 plus tax or alternately due to a special offer you can hand back in your old headphones and for $100.00 we give you a brand new pair with latest technology  and so it was a very easy decision. Thank heavens I did not buy the spares on Amazon which was part of my original plan.

Then back to the Hotel for a rest before tonight’s fun. The shuttle took us to the Westin Hotel just off the strip and we walked to Caesars Palace and dinner at the Palm Steak Restaurant which was extremely good and also bloody expensive but we did expect that.

Our seats for the Elton John show were five rows from the front and EJ was only about twenty feet from us and boy what a show. Old ones and new ones with great support from Nigel Olsen on drums and Davy Johnson on lead guitar and they have been with him since the start. There were also several musicians plus a backing group who all contributed to the event. Towards the end of the two hour show we suddenly realised that they were inviting people on stage to stand around the piano whilst he played and although we were a little slow on the uptake we both had great position and continued dancing the night away. Expensive? maybe but worth every single penny in our book.

 

We left the show and walked around the strip for a few minutes and it was jam packed with all age groups hanging on the glasses of all shapes and sizes and sometimes to each other. Las Vegas is the only place in USA where you are allowed to drink in the street apart from New Orleans I think. As everywhere was packed we walked back to the Westin and decided have a drink in the bar whist waiting for the shuttle and we met a nice couple, he had been divorced twice and she once and they were considering to do it again? Anyway it was nice chatting to them and then we caught the shuttle back and on to bed at about 0045, a little late but very satisfied with the day. Tomorrow we leave Las Vegas and a drive through Red Rock Canyon and Bryce en route to the Grand Staircase National park.

18th October-Things to do, places to go

A good breakfast in the Hotel Rick’s Café and then we did a much longer walk around the property and finally ended up by the swimming pool where we sat for a couple of hours enjoying the sun. It’s a shame they keep putting on pop music and so much for relaxing by the pool.

Westin Lake Las vegas Hotel

Looks like Rome but its Las Vegas

At 12.15 we headed back to the room and en-route tried to get us on the shuttle to the ‘strip’ which we thought would be easy as there is hardly anybody in the Hotel but only to find that the shuttle is  shared with another local Hotel who had booked all the seats. So we said we would go back to the room and change and go to the village down the road which looks quite nice but when we got back to the front desk there was a Mexican couple who also wanted to go to the strip and so we shared a taxi down to Caesars Palace where we wanted to collect our tickets for the Elton John concert on Friday (tomorrow) evening.

Inside the Ventian Hotel complete with Gondoliers

The tickets were duly collected and so we headed off to find a place where we could get a sandwich and a coffee and we were successful within then minutes. After lunch we headed up the strip to the Bellagio Hotel which has a marvellous water jet show every fifteen minutes or so and it was just starting as we arrived.  We passed a smaller fountain where people had been chucking in small amounts of cash and then suddenly this down and out appeared and walked in to the base around the fountain picking up the loose cash, what a good idea I thought but my wife stopped me. There were also people handing out cards offering the services of young ladies who could be with you in twenty minutes or so, no doubt to do the ironing and clean out the fridge or similar or maybe they were offering other services.

We watched and recorded this and then went to the Venetian Hotel where we wandered around the Venice style architecture and watched the gondolas with their singing gondoliers taking the tourist on a boat ride around the inside of the Hotel.

It was finally time to go and pick up the car from  the airport and when we got there a group of about twenty people were waiting and with only three staff working it took about 25 minutes to be served and then to find they did not have the car we requested, these car hire companies are rubbish. So we ended up with a Ford something loadofoldrubbish Mark 11 instead of the Chrysler 300 we had requested, Nothing to do but accept and then they try to sell you this add on and that add on and the just in case you are hit by a boulder from the planet Mars and then you could be covered and only another six dollars a day times 48 days, so no…

Nice pair of pins?

It always takes a few minutes to work out where all the buttons are for the indicators and headlights and adjust the wing mirrors and seat and all the rest. We have our own Satnav, another 12 dollars a day sir!!, no thanks and so we set off for a supermarket called Whole Foods where we planned to find some food for dinner rather than spend a lot at the Hotel. One hour later after having enjoyed freshly cooked chicken fried rice for Jen and shrimp fried rice for Noel we headed back to the car and then went back to the Hotel to get up to date with the Blog and photos. Tomorrow its shopping day before we leave Las Vegas on Saturday morning to go north in the direction of Salt Lake City but stopping off for several days at several rather interesting State Parks. 
More photos on the PHANFARE BLOG at  http://noelgroves.phanfare.com/5797242

17th October- A day in the Hotel

We were awake by around 07.30 (15.30 ish UK time) and down for a light breakfast. Today we planned to stay in the Hotel and spend the day at the poolside.

The Hotel is very quiet and the swimming pool area (two pools in fact) is registered to take up to 1000 people but there would have been about 15 people at the most, in fact I beginning to think there are more staff than guests in the Hotel. We took a few photos around this Hotel which is really very nice and having over its years gone from a Hyatt to a Leows to now a Westin, same building and staff no doubt but a change of stationary.

We had lunch in the poolside café and we ordered the Nachos to share for and a plate of fruit for dessert and when the Nachos arrived in a enormous tub and there was enough for a family of four rather than for one with us two sharing. There was no chance for us and we left more than half and then nearly finished off the fruit. A good day listening to our IPod’s and then and early evening dinner and the chance to catch up on the blogs and generally recover from the flight and aid out body time change.

And so to bed……

16th October 2012- Las Vegas- Harry’s tutor is on his way

A busy morning getting everything packed and the house ship shape before we leave for the airport at 1400 hrs. The Taxi arrived and we headed off for terminal 5 and a very quick bag drop and check in, compared to Gatwick and Monarch it was a doddle.

 A BA friend of ours had requested an upgrade but this was not possible as the flight was chock-a-bloc except first class we think but hey-ho never mind we are on our way for a seven week tour of the Southern US States. The flight was quite smooth and went over Greenland where I got some good photos out the window and we arrived on time in Las Vegas. Our World Traveller plus seating was very close to the door and we were about the 8^th and 9^th people leaving the aircraft and we thought that’s great perhaps for immigration. We arrived at the visitors desk and it was quite empty and we were through the formalities very quickly and very soon at the baggage carousel waiting for our three bags to arrive. The first two of our three bags arrived and then the baggage handling system broke down and so we had to wait another about twenty five minutes whilst they sorted it out. In the meantime I had been receiving email like crazy from the limo company waiting to take us to the Hotel and so we phoned and told them the problem and finally we were out. In the arrival hall we noticed that there were two Limo companies holding up placards with our name, one was the first one we booked and cancelled as they appear to have a lousy service and the other better referenced which we booked after, so had to sort that out.

Anyway we soon on our way to the Hotel at lake Las Vegas only the driver got lost leaving the airport as a new terminal and its road ways has got him a little lost but then 40 minutes later we arrived at the Hotel at about 20.30. A quick shower and change and down to the café for some much needed food and a glass or two of wine (noel only) and then up to bed.

Biggles function in Looe, Cornwall 18-20th September 2012

It had been decided that a further Biggles Club get together would be great to have in Looe get together again only this time it was to start the day after Noel got back from a late evening flight from Spain.

The Biggles club, for those that don’t know, was started a couple of years ago with Noels work colleagues who had retired and decided to lunch every now and again with the restaurant being used a very nice Spanish restaurant called Biggles at Denham Airport. We have had other out of town visits but the trip to Looe had many good things to offer with nice views from the Hotel and some excellent restaurants and for those who play with golf balls, a few courses to keep them happy.

So Noel drove down on Tuesday 18^th and we all met up late afternoon for a couple of pints and a very nice dinner in Looe. The following day Tom and Roger played golf whilst Noel and Tom G did a little sightseeing and photography and then an afternoon visit to a castle ruin and then back for a dinner at the Blue Plate restaurant down the coast. A really great couple of days, indeed. 

Jennifer then joined Noel in Looe as she came down by train and over the next two days we toured around this part of Cornwall and enjoyed the lovely countryside. We also visited Padstow which has become famous due to a well-known chef but it was packed to the gills with nowhere to park and so we left town and went elsewhere.

All photos can be seen on the Phanfare Blog at

http://noelgroves.phanfare.com/5762591

The yearly ‘Parrotfest’ in Spain 9-17 Sept 2012

The globally known Parrot Club celebrated in Moraira, Spain this year with our annual visit to Roger & Sue’s villa in Spain.

John & Lyn collected Noel & Jen for the trip down to Gatwick and our flight on Monarch to Alicante.

The speed of ‘bag drop’ was appalling although we had previously checked in on line and got our boarding passes and after a good breakfast in a Gatwick restaurant we were off for the two hour flight.

The hire car that John had selected was excellent and it had extra seats which allowed the complete Parrot team to travel around together. Roger has prepared a great plan for the week and although it had to be adjusted for various reasons we all had a wonderful time with great food, wine and most important the great company.

Most of the restaurant we visited were reasonably close and that was great. We also did a one night visit to Valencia to enable to tour the Cultural sites and we visited the IMAX 3D cinema which was showing the film called the ‘The Blue Nile’ an excellent film that Noel & Jen had seen in Charlotte USA some years earlier. The helicopter shots did create some eye closing to avoid being ill but overall the film was well received. The visit to the sea life park was great and we saw a marvellous Dolphin show and the choice of underwater animals, sharks, whales and just about everything that swims was there. The whole cultural park area is massive and is built in an empty river bed which runs down to the sea and it must have cost a fortune and it was paid for by The EEC which no doubt included money from the poor British taxpayer.

We had a really lovely dinner in an open air restaurant which had been strongly recommended and although it was not cheap the food and service we tremendous. We used the Metro to get back to Travelodge Hotel where we were staying at rather low cost, 20 Euros per night, and just across the road had a nightcap in a street bar only the brandies were massive and could not be finished by all. John did finish his but the next morning clearly regretted his decision.

We also took a train ride up the coast to a place called Denia and we walked around the old part of town and sampled the local coffee and took some photos and then headed back to the train station to drop down to stations where we would get off and walk a bit to a nice recommended restaurant.

What we were not aware of is that the train only stopped if somebody was on the platform waiting or if you rang the ‘Stop’ bell. Neither of these happened and we sailed through the station at speed with us all standing waiting for the train to stop, boy what a surprise that was. So we got of at the nest step and then waited for the next train northbound and got to the restaurant just in time. Needless to say this event caused us to have a little extra wine to gather our strength to get home.

As usual during these visits we, the visitors, prepare for the event to come up with something to laugh about and this year we went as the Team GB mixed synchronised swimming team as the photo will clearly demonstrate.

All photos for this week in Spain are on the Phanfare blog at

http://noelgroves.phanfare.com/5757585

Michael & Becky's Wedding Day 28th July 2012

We were delighted that our son Michael is getting married to Rebecca (she prefers Becky)

today, at a Church in Cranfield Surrey with the reception being held in the Manor House Hotel at Newlands Corner.

Jen and I started the weekend at the Hurtwood Hotel in Hurtwood, Surrey as the wedding was on the same day as the Olympic Cycle Race which went through Weybridge but also close to the Hotel where the reception was being held. Noel’s sister Annette and her husband Peter also stayed along with our daughter Joanne and her husband Tim. We had a nice dinner then watched the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics and I must say it was quite good and very different in every way compared to the Beijing Olympic opening.

Anyway on Saturday morning we left the Hurtwood Hotel in good time and arrived at the Church with Noel planning to set up his camera and take photos remotely only to find that the Vicar would not allow this. The same would apply to the official photographer.

Becky arrived, just a little late, due to some bridesmaid dress issues but she looked absolutely fantastic with beaming eyes and gorgeous dress. The service took place with them nearly forgetting their lines but in the end after signing the register, our son Michael and great new wife.

After the usual photographs, we headed off to the Hotel at Newlands Corner and took all the back roads to avoid any Olympic cyclists or onlookers but it was fine. The reception was well organised and the speeches from two best men and a proud father were really just right. The forty guests were joined in the evening with some additional friends and with a disco and they danced the night away.

Noel and Jen beat a relative early retreat as Noel had just had an emergency eye op earlier in the week and the eye was feeling tired.

But a truly fantastic day..

All photos of the wedding are on two sections on the Phanfare Blog, one set taken by Noel and the other the official photos.

The link is http://noelgroves.phanfare.com/5690933

On the following day a small reception was held at Piplin House for Noels family, a BBQ had been planned but as expected the weather had turned.